Electronic Arts is in the planning stages to grow their presence in Montreal, Quebec.
EA announced that they plan on bringing 500 new jobs into the city, according to GameIndustryBiz. EA is also planning to invest heavily in Montreal, spending $500 million over the next decade. EA is hoping to build an infrastructure within the city that "can be shared with the video game community" in the long-term.
The deal has been approved by the Quebec government and is planning on going forward. Quebec Finance Minister Carlos Leitão is hoping that the move will make Quebec a major player in the video game industry. "We offer Electronic Arts a stable, predictable, competitive fiscal framework enabling the company to move forward with this substantial expansion," stated Leitão. "This favourable environment led to the positioning of Quebec as a leader in the video game industry and as an internationally recognized centre of excellence."
Montreal is already a major spot for development for EA, with EA Montreal founded in 2004. The studio was responsible for several games, including the Army of Two series, Boogie, and Spore Hero, before it was officially closed down in 2013 in a major reshuffle in the region to make way for Motive Studios, which is currently working on an untitled Star Wars game.
Along with Motive Studios, Quebec is home to BioWare Montreal, which recently released Mass Effect: Andromeda, as well as a Frostbite technology team for their in-house proprietary engine.
It is currently unknown if EA will be increasing the staff at one of their current studios, or formulating a new studio in the region.
Quick Take
Any form of growth is a good thing in the gaming industry, and EA expanding their influence in Quebec should hopefully yield good results for the company. 500 new jobs is nothing to sneeze at, and $500 million over ten years of investment is a strong commitment to growth and development.The question now is will it yield good results, and will other developers follow suit into Quebec? Outside of Ubisoft Montreal and Warner Bros Montreal, the majority of the developers in the region are smaller teams of developers, not in the AAA industry. We shall see what happens in the coming years in Montreal.
What are your thoughts though? Leave your comments below.
